I haven’t updated this log because I am crippled. I hurt my back a few weeks ago and I’m still getting back into things. I’m still planning on doing the meet but this training cycle has been complete shit.
I hurt my back about 6 weeks ago and had to take 2 weeks off lower body, and then followed up with 2 more weeks of light lower body work. I’ve only been in my squat suit 3 times this cycle, usually we go full gear 5 times in a cycle. Despite this, I feel great and weights are moving well.
WARNING: strong language
Despite the video title, this was actually 885 lbs. Using previous training cycles as a guide, this should translate to an 805 squat on the day of the meet. I’ve also hit some other PR’s:
Floor Press 390 x1 (raw)
3-board press 335 4x6 (raw)
Paused Close Grip Press (thumbs from the smooth part of the bar) 345 x1
Sumo Deadlift against Doubled Minis 465 x1 (2 weeks after I couldn’t even walk)
The Arnold Classic is 1 week out and this week I’ll be doing a lot of high rep blood work and some low intensity cardio. My weight is light, around 270 which is the lightest I can remember going into a meet with.
I managed to put all the pieces together this weekend and come up with what I feel is a respectable total. I went 6 for 9 on the day, but had 2 lifts turned down for technical reasons. I did not get the 2,000 total I was searching for but it was close and I proved to myself that it’s there any given day.
After my last meet in October, I decided that I sucked at lifting in meets. Although it was a PR day, I was not happy with my performance. I hit some really big numbers in training, and just couldn’t come through the day of the meet.
This time around, I decided that I would just approach this meet as another training day. During the week of the meet, I trained through out the week like I normally would. I decided that I didn’t want to cut weight and I kept my body weight under control around 270-272 for the whole training cycle. Typically, I don’t eat breakfast and rely heavily on my pre-workout drink for some fast acting carbs before training. In previous meets, I’d eat a huge breakfast for some reason and I convinced myself it would help my performance. In retrospect, this was stupid and it actually held me back.
My warmups went like this:
squat
bar x10
bar x10
add briefs
265 x3
355 x3
445 x1
add suit bottoms
535 x1
625 x1
straps up
680’ish x1
1st Attempt: 744
My only worries were being able to hit depth on this one as in warmups I cut all of mine high. Well I got depth very easily, then dipped even more. The front angle shows I was atleast parallel but my handler told me to never go that deep again. 3 whites
2nd Attempt: 782
The last time I attempted this much weight I blew out my knee. This was in the back of my head, but I just decided I was going to buck up and make this lift anyways. I could not get balanced on this one, I lost my balance when I unracked it, and again coming out of the hole. This made the lift a lot more of a grinder than it needed to be. 3 whites
3rd Attempt: 810
For the first time ever in my equipped powerlifting career, I started the day 2 for 2. I called for 810 which would be a 40lb PR and really set the tone for the rest of the day. Once again, I lost my balance on this one coming out of the hole but somehow stood up with it. I get 2 reds for up & down motion on the way up. Looking at the video it was a questionable call but it could have gone either way. I was bummed but I decided I wasn’t going to let this stop me.
It took about 20 minutes for my vision to clear up and my ears to stop ringing after that rep.
Benches
I decided to play a little conservative on the benches, trying to hit low 5’s for a shot at the total.
warmups
bar x10
bar x10
135 x3
185 x3
225 x3
275 x2
315 x1
add shirt
425 x2 (3 board)
445 x1 (2 board)
1st Attempt: 474
I did not have my shirt set correctly on this one, but touched easy and pressed it (slowly) for 3 whites.
2nd Attempt: 496
This was a very conservative call, I have hit this for a double in training a few times. The shirt readjusted itself when I was getting setup and I just went with it. I lost the groove but recovered and managed to press it back up in about a 30 second rep. My ass came off the bench so I got 2 reds for this one.
3rd Attempt: 501
This was another very conservative call, we jacked the shirt on this one. I touched pretty easily and threw the weight up. I should have experimented jacking the shirt up more in training. I was not familiar with the groove of the shirt when it is jacked up, but I made it happen. I think I could have handled 511 or more on this day, had I been more prepared.
Deadlifts
Going into this I knew I needed a 716 pull for my total. This would be an 11lb PR. Because of a back injury during this training cycle, I did not deadlift heavy conventional in months so I didn’t know what would happen here.
warmups
345 x1
405 x1
525 x1
(yeah thats right, only 3 warmups)
1st Attempt: 628
Hit this well, this ties my total PR of 1912.
2nd Attempt: 672
Hit this well, this nets me a 44lb total PR.
3rd Attempt: 716
This should have been a good rep, but I wanted it too bad and lost my focus. I did not keep my hips down and lost it a few inches off the ground. I know I could have hit this on this day, but I let my emotions take over and it cost me.
All in all I was pleased with my performance. I think I got 3rd overall.
The day would have been a lot different if the last squat would have gone in my favor; I would surely have totaled 2,000. Next time I’ll just come back stronger and leave no doubt about it.
Now that I’ve had a few days to mull it over, I figure I’ll type up everything that I did right this time around and also what I’m planning to improve upon. My next multiply meet will be the October XPC Semi-Finals, and I may do a raw meet between now and then just for shits and giggles.
What I did right
-
A few days before the meet, I typed up a list of all of the equipment I’d need. I made sure that everything was organized and in my duffel bag several days before and in the trunk of my car. Even stuff like spare pairs of socks, clean clothes, chalk, extra wrist wraps, etc. I brought it all with me and I had a list and I never had to worry once about forgetting something. The day of the meet will be full of jitters & uneasiness and I figured that anything I could do to reduce stress the day of the meet would pay off.
-
I trained for the meet like it was just another training day. In previous meets, I took the last week completely off and did light work 2 weeks out. I found that this only adds to the pre-meet jitters. This time I still trained the week before, I just did very light box squats and speed bench. The night before the meet, I did a lot of high rep exercises with bands and dumbells just to get blood in my muscles. The morning of the meet I felt great, and warm ups were perfect.
What I will fix for next time
-
I psyched myself up too much for my last pull. Looking at the previous videos, 716 shouldn’t have been a problem. I lost focus (I wanted it too much) and forgot my form and failed.
-
My bench sucks, and if I’m going to compete in multiply I need to improve this greatly. I’m going to spend the next few months working on my raw bench. I’ve drafted up a little plan I’m going to stick with and re-evaluate in 8 weeks to see where I’m at. I also need to figure out how to use these damn shirts.
-
I got loose in the hole with the squats. This time around, I’ll be doing more raw squatting as well as taking some heavier sets in full gear to depth. This hole training cycle I only handled 730, 740 & 750 straight weight sets – the others I handled with reverse bands.
what are you planning on doing to get your raw bench up?
[quote]budreiser wrote:
what are you planning on doing to get your raw bench up?[/quote]
A few things.
-
My entire upper body, upper arms, forearms are all skinny and weak and I don’t ever do any direct work for them. So I’m going to spend some more time doing biceps, grip work, forearm work, etc, etc. I usually don’t do any, so I figure even a little bit should have a noticeable impact.
-
I have a few training ideas on how to increase my explosiveness out of the bottom of the bench. After training in equipment for the last 2 years, my lockout power has become very strong by comparison. Typically if I can get the weight a few inches off my chest I’ll lock it out. So every week on my DE day I’ll be doing some variant of the following:
- Flat Dumbell Bench Presses with a 3 second stretch & pause at the bottom
- Paused Bench Press about 2" off my chest (aka air boards)
- Incline Barbell or Dumbell Presses for high reps
- I have a list of about 5 ME movements that always seemed to help my raw bench. Those are:
- Floor Press w/ 120lbs Chains
- Floor Press
- Bench w/ 120lbs Chains
- 2 board press
- Close Grip 3 board press
I’m going to cycle them differently that I had in the past. Basically I will use next week’s ME movement as this week’s supplementary pressing movement and work up to a few heavy sets after ME. For example:
Week 1
ME - Floor Press w/ 120 in Chains up to 2-3rm
Supplemental Movement - Floor Press up to 4x6 @ ~80%
Week 2
ME - Floor Press up to 2-3 rm
Supplemental Movement - Close Grip 3 board press 4x6 @ ~80%
Week 3
ME - Close Grip 3 board press up to 2-3 rm
Supplemental Movement - bench with 120lbs chains 4x6 @ ~80%
I started cycling movements like this late in this cycle, and it works so well it’s almost like cheating. I crushed a floor press PR that stood for a long time and had more in me using this method and I’m excited to see what it does if I spend a few months doing it.
- Because I don’t have a meet right around the corner, I can take a few months to re-prioritize my training. I’ll be staying out of gear for at least a little while, which should allow me to recover from more intense and more frequent bench sessions. I’ll be able to stay away from squatting with the straight bar for at least a month or two which should help my shoulders / upper back.
That’s a lot of it in a nutshell, there are a few more things but I don’t feel like spilling the beans if it doesn’t work out. If I’m satisfied with the end result I’ll draw up my plan and post it here.
After a meet, some people like to take a lot of time off. I am not one of them. So I got right back into the swing of things this week:
Tuesday
- I was still sore from the meet so I did a lot of blood work on machines
Leg Curls 2x20
Leg Extensions 2x20
Hyperextensions 2x20
Leg Press 4x10
This was about enough to get some blood flowing and that’s it
Wednesday
Flat Bench
bar x10
bar x10
135 x10
185 x10
225 x10
225 x10
225 x10
Seated Overhead Press
135 x10
135 x10
135 x10
Incline Bench Press
135 x10
185 x10
225 x10
Hammercurls
40 x10
40 x10
40 x10
Friday
Sumo Stiff Leg Deadlifts out of the Belt Squat
90lbs x10
90lbs x10
180lbs x12
180lbs x12
180lbs x12
Kettlebell Swings
54 x12
75 x12
84 x12
Pulldown Abs
130 x20
130 x20
Just enough to make it interesting this week.
Tuesday 3/12 – RE Deadlift
Today was my first day back to “heavy” lifting.
Romainian Deadlift
225 x10 (double overhand)
315 x10 (double overhand)
365 x10 (add straps)
405 x6 (add belt)
455 x6
455 x6
Glute Ham Raise
bw x12
bw x12
bw x12
Kettle Bell Swings
84lb x12
84lb x12
Pulldown Abs
130 x20
130 x20
Leg Extensions
45 x20
45 x20
Wrist Rolly Thinger (did these to hit the upper forearm)
10lbs x3 trips
10lbs x3 trips
20lbs x3 trips
20lbs x3 trips
I didn’t really push anything too hard today as I’m still kind of planning out the next meet plans in my head. I did 3 meets in the course of 7 months, so I’m not going to push any of my lifts for atleast another few weeks. This is a great time for me to work on my weak points and hit some movements I haven’t done in a long time.
Wednesday 3/13 – Minimal Effort Bench
Bench w/ 80lbs Chains
I have never done 80lbs chain weight … usually we use 120 or 160 which is why I picked this
bar x10
bar x10
bar + chains x8
135 + chains x8
185 + chains x8
225 + chains x5
265 + chains x3
285 + chains x2
add Titan Ram
315 + chains x1
285 wasn’t too bad, but my form felt a little off. I bet I could hit 315 raw with this on any given day. I just wanted to get some weights in my hands today, and save some for next week.
Supplemental Bench – 2 board press
315 x5
295 x6
295 x6
This will be next week’s ME movement.
Pulldowns
180 x12 x3 sets
Band Tricep Extensions
2x20 with medium band
DB Curls
45 x12
45 x12
Today was a weird day. I had an early morning wake up call which sent me into a panic and turned out to be nothing. Yesterday I was the most sore I can ever remember, so much so I thought I was getting the flu. I slept for about 10 hours last night, and I usually get about 5 hours of sleep a night so that was weird.
Just a bunch of weird shit happened today in general.
I got to the gym, and worked in with another group because I didn’t want to do the exercise my usual group was planning on doing.
Raw Squat
bar x20
155 x12
245 x10
295 x6
335 x6
These were slow, and awkward and just plain silly looking. I have forgotten how to squat raw. I turned all of these into a good morning motion. None really felt all that heavy, but I looked like a complete jackass.
I decided to stop here when everybody in the gym was laughing at me.
Someone had the wise idea to bring a 30 pack of Busch Light into the gym. After my last set, I cracked open a beer and stuck around to help spot & load the more serious lifters. They finished up pretty quick.
Then I stuck around to finish off the rest of the beers …
Obviously tonight wasn’t the most productive training session.
Squatting like a jackass and slammin busch light? I dont see the problem haha
[quote]mkral55 wrote:
Squatting like a jackass and slammin busch light? I dont see the problem haha[/quote]
It was awesome. I have a funny feeling that this is the start of something great.
I’ll be out of town tomorrow so I figured I’d get some bench work in today.
Lat Pulldowns
60 x12
90 x12
130 x12
160 x12
190 x12
205 x10
Dumbell Bench w/ 1 second stretch & pause at the bottom
55 x10
75 x10
90 x10
90 x10
100 x12
100 x10
I’m hoping these will help with my speed off the chest so I’m going to do these for 3 weeks and see what happens
Seated Overhead Press
135 x10
135 x10
Bamboo Bar Skullcrushers
68lbs x15
68lbs x15
68lbs x15
DB Preacher Curls
35 x15
35 x15
35 x15
Tuesday – Heavy Pull
Today is the first day I bothered to push myself on any lower body exercises since the meet. The group who is doing a meet decided to do pulls off mats against bands, so I worked in with them. I hate pulling against bands, mainly because I’m tall and the bands have an obnoxious amount of tension at the top for me. But I have to believe that it will only make me stronger by doing them. Also, 5 mats seems like a lot but after some heavier weight, the weights sink in to the mats. I’d say this was ~ pin 2.
Mat Pulls (5 mats) Against Orange Band
140 x5
230 x5
320 x5
410 x3
460 x3
500 x1
530 x1 ← not a max effort, but plenty heavy
410 x11
The set with 530 moved ok, but I always get hurt when I pull heavy right after a meet. So I went heavy enough that I had to strain but I bet I could have gone 560 or so on this day. The bands added around 80-100 pounds of tension at the top. This range is where I a miss my heavier deadlifts so I dropped down to do some reps on this range. 11 reps was brutal.
Sumo Stiff Leg Deadlifts out of the Belt Squat*
90lbs x10
180lbs x12
180lbs x20
This movement crushes my glutes. I really think these will help my deadlift tremendously so I’m going to keep them in as a special exercise. I’ll do 1-2 sets of high reps every Tuesday, adding weight each week and I’ll re-assess in a few weeks.
Pullups
bw x9
45 Degree Back Extensions
bw x20
Wednesday 3-20
Max Effort 2-board
bar x10
bar x10
135 x6
185 x6
225 x6
275 x3
add 2 board
320 x1
350 x1
370 x1 +5lb PR
380 x1 +15lb PR
add Titan Ram
390 x1
400 x2
It would appear that the changes in my bench training are working. Today I felt very tight and the reps felt controlled. I broke a fairly recent PR by 15lbs.
Floor Press w/ 3 second pause
225 x5
275 x5
275 x5
295 x5
All reps had a slow 3 count at the bottom. For the last few, I even did an extra long pause. Floor Press is next week’s max effort movement. The last time around, I hit a PR of 390 and I’m excited about the possibility of taking a stab at 400.
Chest Supported Row
135 x15
160 x8
160 x8
DB Front Raises
25 x12
25 x12
Friday 3-22
Squat with Reverse Monster Minis
bar x10
bar x10
add monster minis
265 x10
355 x8
405 x5
445 x5
465 x1 (got bent in half, weight felt easy but looked like a good morning)
add knee wraps
465 x5
485 x3
Sumo Stiff Leg Deadlifts out of Belt Squat
200 x20
250 x12
Pulldown Abs
140 x20
140 x20
Squatting was less awkward tonight, but still pretty awkward. I think the bands took off maybe 100-120 in the hole and almost nothing at the top. None of the weights even felt heavy on my back, it was just an awkward movement out of the hole. Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll be handling 450-500 for reps
Shit, a 15lb 2board pr is pretty big
Where in Columbus are you training? I’m originally from Westerville and will be in Columbus on and off for the next year. Looks like you did well at the Arnold, Congrats.
[quote]budreiser wrote:
Shit, a 15lb 2board pr is pretty big[/quote]
Thanks man, hopefully just the start too.
[quote]vanillagorilla33 wrote:
Where in Columbus are you training? I’m originally from Westerville and will be in Columbus on and off for the next year. Looks like you did well at the Arnold, Congrats. [/quote]
I train at LexenXtreme in Grove City, OH. I was happy with my finish, but never satisfied!
Sunday - 3/24 - DE Bench
Lat Pulldowns
60lbs x10
90lbs x10
130lbs x10
160lbs x10
190lbs x10
Flat Bench
bar x10
bar x10
95 x5
95 x5
135 x5
135 x5
185 x3
start work sets
205 x3 x8 sets
225 x3 x2 sets
Flat DB Bench w/ 1 second pause
100 x14
100 x7 ran out of gas
ISO High Row Thinger
180lbs x15
270lbs x12
320lbs x10
270lbs x10
20 minutes worth of light accessories
DB shoulder raises / plate raise superset x2
Machine Flyes / DB Curls / Band Pushdowns superset x2
Rope Curls / DB Skullcrushers x2
Rear Delt Thingies x2 sets
Tuesday 3-26
Belt Squats to Low Box
90lbs x10
180lbs x10
230lbs x10
230lbs x10
270lbs x6
270lbs x6
Olympic Squats no Belt
140 x10
230 x10
230 x10
230 x10
Glute Ham Raise
bw x15
Pulldown Abs
130 x20
130 x20
Back Extensions
bw x20
bw + 35lb x20
I’d planned to do a few more accessory movements after this, but my lower back was so pumped that the only thing I could think about was laying down and trying to stretch it out.